Masquerade
by Geiko
Summary: Putting their maskes on everyone will a stranger. Five nights of dancing and forgetting prejudices. What will be revealed when the clock strikes midnight?
1. Prologue

Masquerade

Prologue

At the beginning of 6th year Hogwarts welcomed a new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Olga Fedorova was a teacher from Russia with a hard accent but a kind heart.

Seeing the rivalry among the houses she had suggested a special ball that should help forget prejudices and unite the houses in friendship.

The special thing about this ball would be the enchanted masks every student got. Yet not only were the masks enchanted but a whole area of the castle along with them. From what Miss Fedorova had explained everyone was meant to put on the masks and go into the enchanted area. There they would come from all kinds of direction so nobody would guess which house they belonged to.

Dresses and suits were forbidden instead they had to wear their normal Hogwarts school uniform (without the house badges of course). By entering the area they would forget all about the people they already knew and see everyone as a stranger. Like this you were forced to speak with new people and maybe even people you dislike.

During the conversation the mask would transform to something you associate the person with. So if you like someone the mask might start to smile and if you do not the mask might frown or smirk wickedly.

For one week the fifth to seventh years would not have any classes but concentrate on becoming friendlier with the other houses. The true identity of the persons would be revealed on the last night when the clock struck midnight. Five nights of dancing, getting to know new people and forgetting prejudices.

**/ I know this is a really short one but I only wanted to explain the theory of the Masquerade ball. This will be a short Dramione fic with one chapter for every dance and an epilogue**

**I will put a poll in my profile to let you decide whether to continue this of Mind Maddening Mirror first.  
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	2. First Dance

Masquerade

First Dance

"Seriously, Mione, why do we have to get ready this early?", Ron complained while pulling his grey school sweater vest over his shirt. Huffing Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently against the floor.

"Because I´m sick and tired of always being late because of you two."

"Then why don´t you leave first and we will meet up there?" Sometimes she really could not believe Ron meant everything he said. Annoyed she put her palm over her face.

"Haven´t you listened, Ron? Miss Fedorova explained that we will enter the area from random directions no matter where we originally came from so if we don´t go there together I highly doubt that I will be able to find you. After all we will look like complete strangers by then." Ron had just opened his mouth to voice yet another complaint when Harry said: "I think she is right, Ron. The chances are not too good in a room full of strangers." Surrendering to his friends Ron put his shoes on while Hermione tried to tame Harry´s hair.

"Okay, I´m done. Let´s go." They were about to exit through the portrait hole when Harry looked carefully at Ron.

"Aren´t you forgetting something, Ron?" Being dumbstruck as so often he looked at him a little questioningly until Harry waved his mask in front of his face.

"My mask!" Running back Ron tossed things around in the common room in search of his mask.

"You have his mask, right, Hermione?" In response she giggled and revealed Ron´s mask.

"Should we tell him?", she asked while watching her panicking friend.

"I guess we should. But first we can let him search some more." When Ron started to even look into the fire place their laughter grew so loud that he turned around angrily.

"Stop laughing and help m-" Finally he had noticed his mask in Hermione´s hand. His head as red as his hair he stormed towards them and ripped it out of her hand.

The whole way down to the area entrance they kept on laughing and told Ron: "Oh, come on. Stop sulking, Ron. It was just a joke." Right in front of the entrance Ron decided that he forgave his friends and turned around.

"Haha! It was a very funny joke." Putting a fake sorry look on his face they both approached him.

"So how are we doing this so we won´t loose each other?" Her thinking face in place Hermione looked at the door which would lead them into the enchanted area.

"A fixing spell won´t work after all Dumbledore helped setting this spell up. I guess we have to hold hands and hope we will make it." Both boys shrugged and put their masks on. It really was strange to see her friends with those expressionless blank masks on.

Holding tight onto each other´s hands they stepped over the border. They blundered into a swirl and were ripped apart. The next thing Hermione remembered was that she came through a door she had never seen in her life into a great ball room. Still under the impact of the swirling through space she swayed and stumbled over her own feet. She collided with something hard.

"Careful there.", a male voice said near to her ear. The boy had caught her. She wanted to thank him but looking into a blank masked face she got frightened. For a second she had really forgotten about the whole mask thing. It seemed that he recognized that but he did not say anything and simply walked away. Following him with her eyes she recognized the other masked people.

Those masks really did not help her courage to start talking with everything. Although there were a lot of people around her she felt alone and lost. What she did not realize was that she could not even say which hair color each person had or if one stood out more than the other. It was an aspect of the spell. Making her way to the punchbowl she took a glass and watched the others. Many just stood there and looked around the room while some had already been brave enough to talk to someone.

She was just about to get her second glass filled when someone reached for the ladle first. Instead of just leaving after his glass was filled the boy took her glass and poured punch into it.

This time she found her voice and spoke: "Thank you." A brief nod was all she got for an answer. Still the boy seemed to want to stay with her so she just said what came into her mind.

"It´s scary, isn´t it?" He seemed to consider what she had said and let his eyes roam over the room.

"Indeed." The following silence was uncomfortable but Hermione did not know what to do next.

"Have you already had a look into one of the mirrors?" Had he not mentioned the mirrors she would not have cared about them. Her real faced glanced back at her while the person next to her had a mask on. Doubting her eyes she felt her face and really did not feel the mask.

"I think it is part of the spell.", he stated. After having studied herself in the mirror for long enough her view wandered back to him. Something was different about him. It took her a couple of seconds to find out what it was.

"Why aren´t you wearing your school uniform?" Humming he took a sip from his glass.

"But I am wearing my uniform. It seems that is another feature of this enchantment after all you are not wearing your school uniform either." Doubting his words she looked down on herself. The uniform was still in place. For her he was wearing a simple white shirt and a plain grey suit west with black trousers. It was very tempting to try and touch it but mere inches away from him she stopped her hand because it would certainly rude to touch him – a stranger.

Understanding her behavior he chuckled and said: "Go right ahead. I don´t mind being touched." For one second she hesitated and looked into his eyes for reassurance then she softly touched his suit vest. It was real and silky. Soft and cold.

While caressing the material absentmindedly some more she asked: "What is it you see me wearing?"

"A dress.", his deep manly voice spoke.

"What kind of dress?" She moved her finger in circular movements over his chest. The fabric really was smooth and nice to touch. His shrug ended her trance and she realized that she had overdone the whole feeling the vest thing.

"I know very little about dresses. It´s grey with a hint of pink I would say." Only then did Hermione the low tune of the music. A couple of students were already dancing.

"Would you like to dance?" Although she did not know the boy very well yet she thought that she would enjoy dancing with him. He followed her gaze and watched the pairs swaying to the music.

"No, I do not like dancing but we could explore the other rooms in the area if you would like to." A little disappointed she still thought it to be a good idea and joined him.

When the time of the evening came that she felt a certain pull to the exit – a effect of the spell she guessed – they walked towards an exit together.

"How big is the chance that we will get out of the same door?" Humming musingly he turned to look at every door.

"I don´t think there is any chance."

"Yes, probably not." Next to the door they came to a halt and faced each other.

"This was really nice. Maybe we can talk some more the next time." Now that she had a better look at his mask again it even seemed to smile slightly and the vest had some black embroidery on it. This spell was really magnificent.

"I don´t think it in the purpose of this event that you talk to the same person every night." Although she knew he did not mean to offend her she felt rejected.

"Oh, that´s true."

Seeing that she felt bad about him not wanting to talk to him he added: "But I am sure we will talk more frequently when this is over and I know who you are." His words sure made hope blossom in her heart but she also knew that when the event was over the prejudices would be back and maybe he would change his mind then.

Being very tired she agreed with Harry and Ron to tell them all about her night the next morning at breakfast. Shortly before she went to bet she sat down at her desk and wrote down what she had found out about the spell yet.

_The more you know about a person, the more his/her clothes and mask change._

_You cannot see the hair color of a person._

_It is impossible to tell someone your name._

_You forget all the names of your friends._

_At the entrance you are separated from your friends no matter what._

_During the last minutes of the ball you feel a pull towards the doors._

_You can see your face in the mirror but not the one of others._

**/ here is the first "dance", well they this time Hermione did not get the chance to dance but well... **

**So who are the two strangers? **

_**Review, please?**_


	3. Second Dance

Masquerade

Second Dance

The dance was the hot topic at every table and it sounded like bees buzzing around in the Great Hall. Everyone was busy telling their friends how they had experienced it and what their guesses were who they had talked with.

Ginny had found a girl who had the same fashion sense as her to talk with. The girl had been so occupied with the girl that she had not even thought about dancing with a guy.

Harry had watched the others for quite a long time until he had joined a group of Quidditch obsessed people. They had arranged to play a game as soon as the event was over no matter which houses they were from.

Ron had stayed at the buffet for the whole evening chatting with some people but telling a girl off who had asked him to dance.

Of course Hermione had been the only one to investigate the features of the spell. Those spells she spent most of her afternoon on to research them in the library which was quite abandoned that day expect for the younger students who did not participate in the dances. Finding hardy any of the spells she met up with her friends in the Gryffindor common room to chat and play some exploding snap.

The time flew by and soon the time came for them to go down to the area again. This time they did not even bother to hold hands because they knew it was useless.

Although Hermione knew that the swirling sensation would return as soon as her foot made contact with the floor of the area she swayed slightly and tripped just like the day before. And like the first time she did not fall very long before she was caught.

"Are you making this into a habit?", the same deep male voice asked her.

"I really do not hope so.", she replied and looked at the masked face. The difference from the last dance was only small but visible. It had a grey shade now.

"But _if_ I do I hope I will be lucky to be caught again." At that he snorted and shook his head before turning around to walk away.

There were already people on the dance floor and other standing about chatting. Since standing at the punch bowl was good the first time she decided to give it another try and it worked. She had just emptied her first glass when a guy approached her. The way he walked showed confidence which she liked.

"Would you like to dance?", he asked and offered her his hand. Putting her glass down she nodded and placed her hand into his so that he could guide her onto the dance floor. The song was slow and just so loud that you could hear it while talking to your partner.

"So, how do you like the idea of these events?", he asked while he moved her in circles. His hand was not too low on her back, just the right place, and he could dance very well.

"I think it´s really good." With a short nod he urged her to go on. "I mean the prejudices are all nonsense but somehow we all live with them and it changes how we approach and see other people. Especially the whole blood purity thing does not matter here." Bringing up the subject of purebloods and muggle-borns she had done on purpose for she wanted to know what her partner thought about it and so she stopped talking to hear his response.

As he groaned she almost wanted to rip her hand out of his but then he said something she had not expected.

"Argh, this whole thing about pure blood or not is simply annoying. I do not think that having the purest of wizard blood makes you special or better at magic. There are enough purebloods who are only average wizards while there are many outstanding muggle-born ones." Interestedly listening to her partner Hermione smiled more and more behind her mask.

"I don´t care about blood as well, especially since I´m muggle-born myself." His mask was a friendly orange, slightly rounder than before. The fabric of his suit coat changed to velvet.

"May I ask you something?", she said while studying the changes of him some more.

"Of course.", he said and sped up their pace since the song had changed.

"What can you see when you look at me?" He took his time to look at her carefully before he began his explanation of her looks.

"Your mask is blue with a little purple in it with a few white lines here and there. I think it had gotten slightly smaller. The dress is long and blue." Looking at him for a little longer he then shrugged. "I guess that´s it."

They kept dancing for some longer until Hermione felt thirsty and went to the bowl to get a glass of punch. While she helped herself to some of it she overheard the conversation of two girls. What they said was not nice and really nasty gossip about random people in the room. It was all about how people stood in the room or danced to the music. When Hermione turned around to look for her partner she found him dancing with a girl to faster music. He really was an expert dancer and watching them was nice. The way they danced around on the dance floor held some kind of happiness and lightness. Although she had not talked to the girl before she wore a white and yellow dress – just perfect for dancing.

Smiling to herself Hermione was about to go outside when she heard the two girls talk badly about them so she spun around and snapped: "I don´t think you two have understood the purpose of this event but I guess there are always people who cannot be helped."

Both gasped and their red horned masks glared at her but she did not care and walked away.

Since she had been to every place in the area the night before she knew exactly where she wanted to be right now.

There was some quite hidden spot from where you could see the fountain outside. To her surprise she found someone there. At first glance she had not noticed him leaning in the dark but then he moved and she recognized him. It was the boy who had caught her twice now.

"Uh, hello.", she greeted and thought that maybe he wanted to be alone but then the event was for people to get to know the others and so she decided to stay.

"You are not going to fall again, will you?", he asked sarcastically. Shaking her head she stepped closer.

"Why are you alone here?" Defensively he crossed his arm over his chest and looked back at the fountain below.

"I could ask you the same thing."

So he was not very talkative but she did not give up so fast and countered: "How about you tell me your reason and then I´ll tell you mine?" Ignoring her he turned further away.

When she did not make a move to leave any time soon he sighed and said: "I don´t like this event and if it was not obligatory I would not be here in the first place but since I cannot do anything about it I want to stay alone for the time."

At the end of the sentence he shot her a glance that should have told her to go away but somehow he had awoken her interest beside his rudeness.

"Hm… I already thought that not everyone would like the events but have you at least tried to be part of it?", she asked and leant against the opposite wall.

"I thought you said that if I told you my reason you would tell me yours but it seems your reason to be here is to ask many questions and annoy me." His words were harsh and she felt a little hurt because annoying him was not what she wanted to do.

Dejected by what he had said she answered quieter as she had wanted to and her voice wavered: "I found this place yesterday and wanted to watch the fountain for some time. To annoy you was really not my objective but I think you have not even tried to talk to anybody so it´s no wonder you don´t like it." He stepped in front of her visibly not glad about her words and straightened so he towered over her.

"I would not like it and now if you would leave me alone I would be grateful." It was not a question and not a request but something more like command. Since she never liked to be bossed around she dug her heels in and did not leave on purpose.

"How can you know that you would not like it?" Pinching the bridge of his nose which looked like rubbing his mask to her he groaned.

"I just know it. Are you done now?", he hissed.

"No."

"I guess walking away won´t help me so what do you want from me so that I can get my peace?" Shifting from one foot to the other she thought about something that could change his mind. He definitely would not sit down with her to have a nice chat about his life and other things so dancing was the only real option.

"We could dance.", she said lamely and from how his body tensed she knew that he did not like the idea.

"One dance and then you will leave me alone."

"Fine", she said and was a little startled that he walked past her towards the ball room without waiting for her. Hurriedly she followed him and crossed her arms over her chest when he finally had stopped and turned around to face her.

"Let´s get this over with." When she did not take his hand but merely stood there with him at the edge of the dance floor listening to the music he mirrored her.

"You changed your mind about the whole thing?" Shaking her head no she kept listening to the music. He was about to storm off when she took his hand.

"Now we can dance." And so they did.

They danced for some time in silence until he broke it by asking: "What was that just now about?"

Smirking under her mask she answered: "One dance lasts one song so I waited for the other one to end." Something between a snort and a laugh could be heard from him.

"Clever." It was the nicest thing he had told her so far and she took it as a compliment.

Thinking about something to lure him out of his comfort zone Hermione became quiet again. Everything she came up with would only make him storm off or say something sarcastic. In the end she did not have to say anything for it was again he who broke the silence.

"I don´t need this event. I have my friends so I see no reasons to find out things about people I know I do not want to talk with.", his voice was neutral and cold but there was also sadness somewhere hidden in it.

"Still you don´t talk to anybody instead of trying to find your friends to talk with them for in my opinion if you really know your friends it should not be a problem to find them. Giving it a try won´t hurt." Although she could not see his face behind his mask she was somehow sure that he was scowling down at her. Her words might have hit a spot of his and made him think.

For the rest of the dance she stayed quiet and watched him. He made her curious and still she enjoyed it not to talk but simply dance with him. The skilled dancer he was she felt like she was floating over the floor because he moved so fluently and effortlessly. Sadly the song had to end and they stopped.

"That´s it.", he murmured as she gazed up at him. About to leave her she caught a glimpse of something she had not realized yet and grabbed him by his arm.

"What? I thought we had a deal." His voice held no anger but mild annoyance.

"Uh, I´m sorry." Hesitantly she let go of him so he could walk away.

She had discovered something but the ball was almost over so she could not investigate it further. The people she had already talked to were nowhere in sight.

On her way up to the Gryffindor tower Ron, Harry and Ginny caught up with her but she did not listen to their stories because she was too occupied with what she might have discovered. Before she went to sleep she once again took her list and added one thing to it.

_Eye color?_

**/ so here is the second dance and I hope you enjoyed it. I though about changing the time setting to seventh year but decided against it since I cam up with an even better ending than before. **

**So who is the person who caught her twice now?**

**Who is the guy she danced with and who the girl in the yellow dress?**

**Who are the two nasty gossips?**

**Who is the girl Ginny talked to?**

**Make a guess!  
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_**Review, please?**_


	4. Third Dance

Masquerade

Third Dance

Her dream had been tinged in an icy blue and she had been chased by those eyes of his. Blue was not an uncommon eye color but his certainly was. Never in her life had she seen something this beautiful before. It was not only a light blue but it was very close to white and had small dots of what seemed to be silver in it.

She had been awoken by the twittering of her two roommates who lay together in Lavender´s bed. When Hermione sat up yawning both of them fell silent and separated. This behavior was typical for them. So they had just discussed something secret and Hermione did not care because whenever they had decided to let her in on one of their _big_ secrets it was complete nonsense or boring. In silence all three girls changed into their uniforms and went down into the Gryffindor common room.

Harry and Ron were playing wizard chest like so often while Ginny read a Quidditch magazine.

"Morning. Were you waiting for me?", she asked and let herself plop down next to Ginny on the couch.

"Morning, Mione.", Ginny greeted her and put her magazine away while the boys did not even seem to have noticed her presence.

"Oh, ignore them, they have been at it for quite some time and for once Harry seems to win." Rolling her eyes Hermione sighed and leant back into the cushion.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything, anytime.", the redhead answered and grinned.

"Have you noticed something … well … how to say it … not normal about other people´s eyes during the balls?" Frowning slightly Ginny looked out of the window which she usually did when she was thinking really hard.

"No, I don´t think so. Why are you asking?" Somehow the thing about the icy eyes guy was dear to her and she did not want to give it away if she was not even sure that she had not just imagined it. Although she could tell her friend everything Ginny was still a girl and a very nosy one at that who always came up with uncomfortable questions. These questions Hermione feared for the Weasley girl did not give up until she had an answer. Of course she knew that this fear was without cause in this case but still she would not like to be asked stupid questions just to tell the girl that there was nothing special about the guy and definitely no crush. At that point of time of course the thing about the crush was still true but would change faster than she would have liked while she already felt that there was something very special about the guy.

"Ah, no it´s nothing. I´m just writing a list about the features of the spell and thought that the eyes seemed strange but I guess that´s only because they are wearing masks." Ginny raised an eyebrow, a sign that she not really understood what Hermione had just said, but did not ask anything more.

"Well, I guess we should go down to breakfast without these two. Right,Harry,Ron?", the boys heard that they were asked something but obviously had not caught the sentence before that and merely nodded continuing their game.

Like the day before the Great Hall was buzzing with conversations but there were also people who just sat there watching the others or trying to listening in on their conversation. The guessing had begun and there also seemed to be people who had already found each other.

This Hermione noticed when she found Luna sitting next to Neville at the Gryffindor table. Seeing them this lovey-dovey she had to smile for the boy really deserved someone like Luna who truly liked him. Curious as the two girls were they of course sat down next to the new couple and wanted to hear their story and while Hermione listened she realized that the girl that had not returned for another dance might have been her. So the guy in orange and the girl in the beautiful yellow dress had been Neville and Luna. Knowing this Hermione decided to do an experiment.

The afternoon passed way too quickly and soon Hermione was up in her room to fetch her mask where she found Lavender applying perfume onto her wrists and neck. This brought an idea into Hermione´s mind which she would have to test as well. Because she got separated from her friends no matter what she did they no longer waited for each other. This time the swirling sensation did not hit her as hard as the days before and she was lucky because her mysterious guy was nowhere in sight so he would not have caught her.

On top of her list was controlling her first suspicion: Neville and Luna. They were easy to find for they were dancing again as one of the first couples on the dance floor. Disappointed Hermione sighed and went for the punch bowl. She had been wrong about the revealing identity thing. Although she now knew who the two where they were still masked and had nothing in common with their real selves.

"What´s wrong? You look a little down.", surprised at the sudden touch on her shoulder she almost spilled her drink.

"Ah, it´s you." It was the boy she had discovered the areas on the first evening.

"I was just wrong about something." Although she could not see his face she knew that she had made him curious with her statement.

"I thought that as soon as you know who somebody truly is you could see them how they really look like." He snorted bemusedly.

"What are their names?" Watching the two of them dance she tried hard to remember their names and then she realized that she not even remembered how they looked like outside of the area but only that they did not look like what she could currently see.

"I don´t know." Gently, he took the glass out of her hand and poured some more punch into it.

"You have an observer by the way." Baffled by his comment she lifted her eyebrow and wanted to look around for who he was talking about when he continued talking.

"Don´t look for him this obviously. Let´s dance." Only letting her take a short sip from her glass he took it once more out of her hand and guided her onto the dance floor.

"What are you doing?" He did not answer but merely led her so they would not hit any other dancing couples.

"He´s right there. At the back. Standing in the doorway." Now they were dancing so Hermione was practically forced to look at her watcher and it was true. His stare was very intense. It was so intense that she could barely stand under his gaze and shivered. Feeling her reaction her partner turned them and danced off to a further corner of the floor where they were covered by more couples.

After some minutes of swaying to the music she found the courage to speak again: "Is he still looking at me?"

For a split second he partner seemed to gaze into the distance before he shook his head.

"I lost sight of him minutes ago. He must have become tired of watching." Relief washed over her for the blink of an eye because he had been right. The guy had become tired of _watching_ and was not tapping her partner´s shoulder.

"I think occupying the same girl for so long is not within the meaning of this event.", his voice was deep and smooth and yet felt like shivering. Because his words were true her partner left her with an apologetic look. Her new partner had a stronger hold on her and did not keep as much space between them.

"You must be quite the rule breaker when you care nothing about Dumbledore´s will to unite the houses." He shook his head in a mocking way and quickened the pace. Choosing to stay quiet to make her suffering shorter she went along with him.

"And not talking to me does not help either, girl." Again she said nothing and it seemed to work until he bent forward so that his lips were right next to her ear.

"I know something we will both like that will help to better our relationship." Slowly but deliberately his hand moved lower on her back and traced in circular movements over her skin. A gasp escaped her throat at the strange feeling. How could he touch her skin or was it just an illusion. Panic rose in her for she did not know what was happening. Losing control like this felt like falling and once again it was the boy with the bright blue eyes to catch her before she hit the ground. Without her having noticed he had walked up behind her dance partner and put a strong grip on his shoulder.

"I´m sorry but this dance was already promised to me.", he spoke in his deep clear voice. Yet the hold of her partner did not loose and he merely turned his head and said: "Strange, I have not seen her talking to you."

A smirk spread on his lips and he countered: "She promised me the last dance and this is the last dance."

Snickering erupted from her partner´s mouth and she flinched.

"You must be mistaken for this is not the last dance." Victory shone in his eyes as he snatched her hand into his.

"I´m not mistaken. This _is_ the last dance for afterwards she will _not_ dance again." Knowing when to give up the other guy stepped back and murmured something.

"I have to admit, this was well played." He walked off but not without bumping his shoulder against her savior. When the guy was out of earshot her partner frowned down at her.

"You were lucky I was around." Nodding she lowered her eyes silently thanking him for her rescue. After some time she found her voice again.

"I just would not have thought that there were people like him.", she whispered. Lightly her hand was squeezed and she looked up into his icy blue eyes.

"Being here anonymously is quite the advantage not only to forget prejudices so it´s no wonder he uses it. There are always people who use things like this event for their own purposes." At that she frowned deeply.

"I can´t believe that one could fall for his tricks." He looked her deep into the eyes before he snorted.

"Not knowing who the other one is makes you more mysterious and it also gives you safety. There sure are enough girl who will fall for it." The song ended and they stepped back from each other.

"How can you be so sure about this?" With one hand he brushed through his hair, it was long and black.

"I did things quite worse to girls and it worked." Although the next song had started and the couples were moving around them Hermione just stood there and stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, I guess it has been nice to meet you.", he said and walked away.

For minutes Hermione would sit in a corner and sip absent-mindedly on her drink while thinking about the negative side of the event. What he had said was true. This event did not only have advantages. After she had had enough of it she stood up and wandered about until her feet carried towards this one lonely place where she met him again.

"I didn´t think I would see you again this soon or ever again."

"Well, I didn´t know that you would be here." For a second she thought about leaving but decided against it and went to stand at the wall beside him.

"I would not have taken you for a girl who will accept the fact that I have treated other badly this easily." When he had said that she looked away and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I just don´t think you are a bad person." Laughter erupted from him and he shook his head in mock disbelief.

"You have only known me for the short time of this event and already think you know me? What if I just do this to do even worse things than the guy you have danced with?" The thought alone made her shudder and she vehemently shook her head.

"If you wanted to do worse things to me you would not have been so unwilling to talk to me in the first place." A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth and he turned so he was standing right in front of her. In one slow movement he leant in so that their noses almost touched.

"Are you sure about this?" Her eyes did not waver and stayed locked with his.

"Yes, I am." Right after she had said it he pushed himself off the wall and stood at some distance from her.

"You are right." Relieved she breathed in deeply and smiled.

"Yet, I would still like to know why you would do such things?" Slowly he inhaled and exhaled loudly.

"Different reasons. For once it´s just for fun and then I´m bored very often so I made it into a game. Still I know it´s wrong but I just see no sense in stopping. Girls are really one of the few things I cannot just simply have." Silence reigned between them which was interrupted by a short chuckle.

"You know I thought about having you but somehow I decided against it." Contrary to what he had believed to be her reaction she grinned.

"Today you are quite in the talking mood, it´s rather nice." Not one word about him fooling around with girls had left her lips and it stunned him.

"Let me tell you what I think: you are only telling me those things to scare me off because you think you are not good for me. Rubbish!" Her giggle made him smile and she could see it. He shrugged and turned to look at the fountain.

"So tell me, have you made the right decision?" Not knowing what she meant he turned his head towards her.

"Decision about what?" Smirking widely she said deliberately slow, stressing every word.

"About having me or not." Slightly taking aback by her forwardness he clear his throat before he nodded. Her cheek colored a little and somehow she felt very warm inside.

Since he had mentioned being bored very often she wanted to entertain him while she would find out more about him.

"Let´s play a game."

Curious of what she was up to he raised one eyebrow and asked: "What game?"

Satisfied that he had not said no she smiled and told him that they would ask each other questions in turn and the other had to answer them truthfully, like this they would be able to learn more about each other. They started up with things like favorite color and other random things but as the game went on they came to more personal questions.

"What do you want to become in the future?", she asked and had a thousand ideas in mind what he could do really well. Strangely he hesitated, which he had not done with any other question before.

"Do you want to know what I am expected to become or what I really want to become?" Like in some answers before he hinted that there were two sides to it. It seemed like there always were two answers – the expected one and his own choice.

"I don´t care for the expected one." For a split second he looked very grave at her but then he was back to normal.

"An Auror or maybe a lawyer. What about you?"

"I want to work for the ministry or become a teacher here at Hogwarts." The pulling feeling of the event going to an end was there so the time left was short which left only one more question for Hermione.

"Last question: Have you ever been in love?" His icy blue eyes shone with sadness somehow and without saying anything he walked towards a door to exit the area. Just before he stepped through it he turned and slightly shook his head.

**/ sorry for the long wait. I hope you liked this chapter and I want you to know that after this story is finished in 3 chapters I will upload one or two short side stories. Lavender´s little secret will be one of them as well as some Ron story.**

**So the dancing couple from last chapter was Neville and Luna. BTW the evil gossips with the identic masks are not the Patil sister for I think that although they look identic they do not have the same character and therefore have different masks.  
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**I´m such a story few whore and was really down when I uploaded a new chapter and there were no view in the statistics because had some problems.**

_**Review, please?**_


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